It's My Choice
by NeonReese
Summary: The curse catches Snow during child birth and Emma is brought to Storybrooke along with everyone else. Regina allows the Charming's to stay together as a family because when researching the real world she discovered the rebellious nature of teenagers and what could be better than Snow raising a rebellious Emma and only managing in pushing her further away? (Eventual SwanQueen)
1. Chapter 1

**The curse catches Snow during child birth and Emma is brought to Storybrooke along with everyone else. Regina allows the Charming's to stay together as a family because when researching the real world she discovered the rebellious nature of teenagers and what could be better than Snow raising a rebellious Emma and only managing in pushing her further away?**

* * *

 **A/N: This is my first fan fiction so please comment I would love the feedback. Also just so you know the curse affects Emma and a few others slightly differently the differences will be explained in later chapters.**

* * *

Regina let a full blown smile grace her lips as she stalked through the palace halls. She had finally done it, she had finally won. The curse was on its way and it was too late for any _heroes_ to win. She would finally have her revenge on Snow White. The weeks she had spent preparing for this day came back to her, all the plans she had made and the beautiful wonderful opportunity that presented itself.

Regina walked into chambers where Snow lay on her bed with her idiot of a husband at her side. Snow's screams reverberated around the room. Child birth was never easy however it seemed Snow was having a very had time. When the idiot shepherd realized she entered the room her jumped up from his place on the floor. His sword slid out of its scabbard forming a barrier between her and what he thought she wanted.

"Put that thing away before you hurt my feelings. I came here personally to bring you good news. Don't you want to hear it?" Regina asked.

"Wh-What?" Snow gasped from the bed.

"Ignore her Snow" Charming told his wife. "Nothing she has to say matters. Just focus on Emma. I'll protect you both."

"How _Charming_ of you, but that is what I came here to tell you: that you don't need to worry about me. I've decided that to let you all be together. My curse will still whisk us all away to a different world without your memories but you'll be together. What you make of that life will be completely up to you, and I am warning you right know that any unhappiness you experience will be over you own doing." Regina told them barely keeping a lid on the excitement in her voice.

Confusion flashed across Charming's face and his sword lowered just the smallest amount.

"What does that mean, Regina?" Snow asked.

"It means dear Snow that my revenge will be me sitting back and watching as you bring about your own unhappiness by driving a wedge between yourself and you bundle of joy."

A cloud of purple smoke descended on the room and its occupants as the last word slipped from Regina's mouth.

* * *

 _8 years later_

"Emma, Happy birthday!" Mary Margret greeted as she entered her daughters room. The room was a light pink as it had been since she was a baby and pictures of flowers decorated the walls. In a sharp contrast to the neat and feminine walls the room was a mess. Mary Margret winced inwardly as she made her way through the mess her daughter had created. She swore that Emma had just cleaned the room only a week ago. Shaking her head she focused her thoughts in the direction of Emma's birthday, she could let the mess go for now it was no reason to spoil a birthday.

Emma's blonde curls were disheveled around her head and she looked so sweet an innocent. Mary Margret's heart swelled with love and joy.

"Morning!" Emma greeted cheerfully. To Emma the last few weeks seemed to stretch forever until at last her birthday finally arrived.

"Come on let's get you ready for your party." Mary Margret had finally made her way over to Emma's wardrobe and was going through her clothes looking for something that was nice and presentable. She spotted a pink and white dress in the back and pulled it out with a smile on her face. She had bought the dress for Emma at Christmas but had yet had the chance to see Emma wear it. The smile on Emma's face deflated as her mother pulled the frilly monstrosity. "Mom that dress is too…fancy for the party. Where going to be in the _park_ I need something I can run in and play in." Emma whined. Her parents were going overboard with the party and had invited her entire class and the last thing she wanted was to show up in a dress, much less a princess pink frilly dress at that.

"Nonsense. Just because we are going to be outside doesn't mean you can't wear a dress. Besides as the birthday girl you need to look nice and this dress will look beautiful on you."

Despite her protests her mother efficiently wrangled her into the dress.

"There see you look beautiful." Mary Margret said.

"I don't care about that! It's uncomfortable and I won't be able to play." Emma whined for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Come on, your father's waiting for us downstairs." Mary Margret said. Not seeming to hear her daughter's complaints. Emma sulked as she followed her mother down the stairs. Her father seemed to pick up on her sulky mood and tried to cheer her up by complimenting her dress and how pretty she looked. The compliments only made Emma sulk more but her mother beamed taking David's compliments as support for the outfit choice.

Emma was silent as David drove them to the town park her mood however was forgotten when she arrived and saw the park all decorated with balloons and steamers and a bounce house set up next to the playground. A brilliant smile broke out on Emma's face and she was out of the car as soon as it was parked.

It didn't take long before the other kids started arriving most placing presents down on the table before running off to play. Emma was sitting at a table watching everyone around her. She was waiting for one of her actual friends to arrive.

"Nice dress, where'd you get it off a baby doll?" Ruby asked. Emma turned around to see her best friend Ruby standing behind her. "Wasn't my idea." Emma told her. Ruby smirked but didn't bring up the dress again. "So why you just sitting there like a lump on a log? Let's have some fun."

Before they got the chance Mary Margret called. Emma glanced across the park and cringed standing beside her mother was Ashley Boyd. Ashley was the biggest goody-two-shoes in the entire school and Emma couldn't stand her. The feeling was mutually but that hadn't stopped her from showing up. Emma approached wearily and as she did she heard the tail end of the conversation.

"Thank you very much for inviting me Mrs. Nolan." Ashley said in fake sweetness.

"I'm glad you came. It is nice to meet some of Emma's friends. Getting her to talk about her day is like pulling teeth let alone getting her to talk about her friends. Emma wanted to turn around but her Mother looked up at her before she got the chance.

"Emma, there you are. You should say hello to all your friends it is not nice to ignore people when your hosting a party." Her mother said. Her mom leaned down and under the pretext of straightening her dress she whispered. "Ashley likes your dress. I told you, you look beautiful." Emma said nothing and as soon as she got her chance she made her escape for her mother and from Ashley and hopefully the word she was quickly becoming to hate "beautiful".

* * *

Emma quickly stopped caring about the fact she was in a dress and started enjoying herself and actually played. Emma went in the bounce house and interrupted the boy's game of baseball proving to Seth that she could so to pitch better then him even in and dress. Currently she was on the monkey bars Ruby dangling in front of her. They were half way across when Mary Margret came racing up behind them.

"Emma!" Her mother's voice startled both girls. They both jumped but only Ruby fell off the monkey bars and landed on the ground in a big heap.

"Shit! That hurt!" Ruby screamed. Mary Margret gasped shocked at the girl's language. Deciding now wasn't he time to bring it up she turned her attention back to Emma who was still on the monkey bars. She grabbed Emma around the waist and pulled her down.

"You can't go on the monkey bars with a dress on Emma. Anyone could see up under it. If you want to play on a jungle gym you need to wear the proper clothes." Mary Margret lectured. "You need to be more careful. We'll talk about it more later for now…why don't you go play with Ashley."

Emma turned to glare up at her mother. She made it sound like it had been her idea to wear the stupid dress. Like she didn't _know_ that a dress was not the type of clothes one should wear if they were going to be running around and playing. What really annoyed Emma however was the dismissal. Emma ignored her mother and turned back to her friend. Her actual friend not some snotty girl who she didn't like that had shown up at her party.

"Are you ok Rubes?" Emma asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine. My knee is a little scraped but it's all good."

"Emma." Mary Margret warned.

"We should probably clean out the cut." Emma told Ruby still ignoring her mother. Ruby looked back in froth between mother and daughter but said nothing more as Emma hurriedly dragged her away from Mrs. Nolan.

* * *

The party had been over for hours and Emma was about to go to bed. Thinking it all over Emma decided that despite the bumps she had had fun today. Emma was just about to turn off her bedroom light when her bedroom door opened. Emma had to forcibly swallow down her urge to tell her mother to knock next time.

"Emma, I need to speak to you about today." Mary Margret said.

"What is there to talk about?" Emma asked

"This afternoon who was that girl you were with on the monkey bars?"

"Ruby. Ruby Lucas. Why?"

Mary Margret moved further into the room and sat on her daughter's bed.

"Because, I don't think you should hang out with her anymore."

Emma said nothing she just sat there staring at her mother like she had gone crazy. Why on earth would she stop hanging out with Ruby. Ruby was her best friend.

"I know that this is difficult for you to understand but Ruby isn't a good influence for you Emma."

"Why? Because I was having fun and went on the monkey bars? Sure I was in a dress but I _told_ you I didn't want to wear it. I wanted to be able to play. No one else was wearing a dress because they all know that you don't wear a dress to the park." Emma argued.

"It isn't about that…well not really. The problem is about Ruby and how she…behaves."

"What is that suppose too mean?"

"She is only eight, I don't know how she knows any swear words but she does and that is not the kind of person I want you hanging around with. Like I said she is a bad influence and I don't want you picking up bad habits from her. I know she is your friend but you should try distancing yourself from her. Maybe try hanging out with Ashley a bit more. You barely talked to her and she seems like a very nice girl."

"I don't want to hang out with Ashley I can't stand her. And Ruby is my best friend. I'm not going to _distance myself_ from her. You can't control who I can and can't hang out with!" Emma yelled.

"Emma I am your Mother-"

"No! I don't care if you're my mother or not. She is my best friend you can't tell me not to be friends with her just because you don't like the fact she swore. Have you ever heard me swear before? No, you haven't even though that isn't the first time Ruby has sworn around me. So what if she knows a few words that doesn't mean I am going to go around copying her. I am my own person and I can make my own decisions. I don't need or want you telling me right from wrong. I am old enough to do that myself!"


	2. Chapter 2

_4 years later_

Emma turned over reaching widely for her alarm clock. It was loud and annoying and all she wanted was to go right back to sleep. At least that was all she wanted until she remembered why she had set her alarm so early. Today was the day for try-outs which were unfortunately taking place in the morning. Emma didn't care about the time any more she was up and striping out of her clothes before dashing into the shower.

The bathroom was a recent addition to the apartment; Emma had begged and pleaded with her father for months for him to build her, her own bathroom. He had surprised her with agreeing to it if she agreed to accept it as her 12th birthday present. She had readily agreed. She couldn't take sharing a bathroom with her parents anymore and she was beyond pleased with the small amount of privacy she now had.

Emma stepped out of the shower and entered her room her hair wrapped up in a big fluffy towel. Her room had changed drastically over the years. Gone were the bright pink walls and flowers. In their place were now emerald green walls and stacks upon stacks of Cd's. Emma tossed the first thing she found on and grabbed her bag. She practically flew down the stairs. It wasn't even 7 o'clock her mom was already up and had begun making breakfast.

"Emma? What are you doing up so early?" Mary Margret asked. She was surprised to see her daughter out of bed so early; usually it took the lure of caffeine to wake her up. Mary Margret hated that her young daughter was more of a caffeine addict than most adults but in some cases desperate time call for desperate measures.

"Try-outs are today I need to get to school early." Emma said in a rush grabbing her travel mug and pouring herself some coffee.

"Try-outs for what?"

"Basketball. Remember I have been talking about this for weeks. You and Dad both signed the permission slip and everything."

"Basketball? You haven't mentioned anything to do with basketball."

Emma shrugged but inside she cringed just a little bit. She may have skimmed over what the try-outs were actually for whenever she was around her mother because she knew how she would react. Her Dad had no problem with her wanting to play sports but her mother was always trying to baby her.

"Mom, come on. It is a sport. Nearly everyone plays on some kind a team and technically you have already agreed. Besides there is no guarantee that I will even make the team. A lot of kids don't make the cut."

"Ok, alright. But are you sure you don't want to try-out for something else. Like I don't know…Cheer maybe or Band or Dance? Basketball is just so…rough and uncouth."

"No, basketball is fun and I enjoy it unlike cheer or band or dance. Now please. Pretty please with sugar on top will you drive me to school?" Emma asked.

Ruby waited until Mary Margret's car pulled out of the school's lot before moving out from behind one of the pillars that made up the front of Storybrooke Junior High. She wasn't sure why but Emma's mom was always just a bit…cold to her and Ruby usually tried to avoid her when she could. She had asked Emma about it once but the Blonde never spilled. Since then they both pretended like it was a non-issue.

"I'm surprised you made it. I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to convince your mom."

"I think the only reason she agreed was because she didn't think I would actually make the team. She figures that she might as well save her disapproval until it is absolutely necessary."

They both started into the building their voices carrying just a bit through the empty halls.

"Does that mean the fights are getting worse?"

"mmmh." Emma replied noncommittally.

"Em."

"What?"

"You can talk to me ya' know? How long have we been besties? You can trust me."

"I know I can Ruby. It's just….it's just not something I feel like talking about."

Ruby let the matter drop. She knew Emma trusted her. Emma was one of the few people who did trust her. Most people where always judging her. It didn't matter how she messed up or what she did. Emma was a constant. Always by her side, always willing to defend her, always willing to help her out. She knew that trust wasn't the issue. It was the talking. Ruby had formed her own expert opinion about Emma which was that she had been scared off of talking to people about important things because she felt that no one would listen to what she said. They might hear her but they wouldn't listen.

So unless she thought it was absolutely necessary Ruby never pushed the Blonde to talk to her. Instead she learned the ways Emma spoke without words and did her best to show her friend that no matter what she was on her side. Because Emma deserved it. She deserved someone on her side that actually paid attention to her.

Tryouts went smoothly and by the time they were done Emma felt positive that both Ruby and her would make the team. They just had to survive the next two days of tryouts. She was happy about that until she realized that if she did in fact make the team she then had to try and convince her mother to let her actually play. As far as she knew her mom would try and talk her out of it or try and convince her coach to bench her. Emma breathed a silent prayer to whatever deity was watching. Hopefully her mother's influence didn't extend to the junior high. Her mom was a teacher at the high school and throughout her entire schooling she always stuck her nose where it didn't belong. Emma tossed her bag into her locker and collected all the books she needed for her classes.

"Emma." Ashley called. "Your mother wanted me to remind you that I was coming over after school so you could help me with my campaign posters."

Emma gritted her teeth but forced a smile onto her face. "I remember." Ever since her eighth birthday her mother had been doing her best to get her to make new friends. She didn't do anything to stop her from hanging out with Ruby per say but she did try and get her to _broaden her horizons_ and _be more extroverted._ One such way her mother did this was by forcing her to hang out with Ashley. She understood her mother's motivations but she couldn't understand Ashley's. She knew for a fact that the other girl detested her just as much as Emma despised her. Still Ashley never missed an opportunity to 'hang out' with her.

School was long boring and tedious. Emma would have probably fallen asleep but the last time that had happened her mother grounded her for two weeks and made her write an apology letter to the teacher _and_ read it out loud during class. She had also received a lecture about why falling asleep in class is so rude. It had been all "teachers are human too. They have feelings and they are just trying to help you grow and improve. They deserve the respect and undivided attention from their students…blah blah blah."

Emma would have gladly skipped reading the letter out loud but if she had and her mother found out than she would have had to deal with her mom coming down to the school and forcing her to read it. Ever since then Emma did her utmost best to be the perfect student or at least appear to be. She had enough trouble with her mother as it was she didn't need her intruding any more than she already did in her life.

Emma slammed the door to her room and wished for the umpteenth time that she had a lock on her bedroom door. She had had it. Downstairs the sound of Ashley and some of her friends laughing grated on her nerves. Ashley had taken it upon herself to invite some other _friends_ along to help with her class president campaign posters. No one had bothered to ask or even tell Emma. Nope that didn't matter to anyone and when Emma had told Ashley that she could've at least told Mary Margret she discovered her mother had already known. So why hadn't anyone bothered to tell her?

That wasn't even the worst part. No the worst part was, was that they had been here for three hours and they hadn't even started on the damn posters.

Her bedroom door opened and her mother walked in.

"Emma what are you doing up here? You should be downstairs with your friends, helping out."

"Helping out? Does that mean they have finally gotten off their lazy asses and are actually working on the bloody posters?" Emma asked.

"Emma! Language. We've been through this. You are not allowed to swear."

Emma bit her tongue to keep from responding. She wanted to just start swearing, as loudly as she could. Just to prove she didn't need her mother's permission. Just to prove she could make her own choices. Instead she made the choice to bite her tongue. She had decided she would be on her best behavior and avoid all fights with her mom to try and get her into a better mood to convince her to let her join the basketball team. So with thoughts of sweaty gyms and different plays running through her head she apologized as sincerely as she could and followed her mother back downstairs into the lion's den.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I just want to thank everyone for reading and for the reviews that I have been getting. Please keep reviewing and just a side note of good news: We get to meet Regina in this Chapter :)**

* * *

Emma stared at the posting on the bulletin board. It was the roaster for the basketball team along with positions and uniform numbers and the practice schedule. Around her she heard cheering and crying and Ruby was shaking her in excitement. She envied all of them because as soon as she had seen her name she didn't even get the chance to feel excited before dread coursed through her veins along with a single thought: How was she going to get her mother to agree to let her joining the team?

Emma hadn't said a word since she came home. She just made nonverbal comments whenever asked a question. Her thoughts where obviously elsewhere and her parents where slightly concerned. Emma just kept trying to find the perfect way to tell her mom about the news hoping that if she delivered the news correctly than maybe just maybe her mother wouldn't put up a fight about it.

"Emma...Emma?"

Emma glanced up from her diner. She wasn't even sure what it was they were having. She wasn't even sure if she had eaten any of it.

"Mmmhmm?"

"Emma, what's wrong? You now you can talk to your father and me about anything."

Emma swallowed thickly

"Nothing's wrong." She muttered.

"Emma obviously somethings wrong. You haven't said five words since you've gotten home from school and you haven't even touched your meatloaf."

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking."

"Emma."

Her mother sounded exasperated and Emma turned her eyes pleadingly towards her father.

"Mary Margret I'm sure Emma will talk to us about it when she's ready."

"David if something's wrong she should tell us so that we can help her. If she doesn't say anything it doesn't solve any problems."

"Nothing's wrong!"

"Than what have you been thinking about since you got home."

"Basketball!" Emma shouted.

"Oh, Honey did you not make the team? Its ok you can always try again next year. If you want something to do we can find you another club or sport to join. One that doesn't cut people, an all-inclusive team."

"Mom I made the team."

"There has to be something else you would enjoy participating in. we just need to find it."

"Mom. I. Made. The. Team." Emma tried again.

"Not everyone is cut out for sports. We can go down to the library and look to see if there are any posters or flyers up that look interesting."

"Mom! I made the team!" Emma yelled her voice finally breaking through Mary Margret's prattle.

"Emma there is no need to yell at me! I'm just trying to help."

"That's just it Mom. I don't need your help trying to find another club or anything. I made the team."

"Oh…in that case what's wrong? Are you having second thoughts because if you are there is no reason what so ever that you need to play."

No, I am not having second thoughts. I am glad I made the team. I can't wait to play. I want to play."

Mary Margret looked as if she wanted to say something else but David cut her off.

"Congratulations Emma I can't wait to see your first game."

* * *

Emma was in the locker room the palms of her hands were sweating. She couldn't believe she was about to play her first basketball game. It seemed unreal yet somehow here she was and her mother hadn't even made as much as one disapproving comment the entire week. Not just one day but a whole week. Emma was ecstatic but past all her excitement Emma had the smallest feelings of disbelief. She couldn't remember the last time she had gotten her way when it came to something her mother disapproved of.

Pushing away her pessimistic thoughts Emma focused on the sounds of her teammates in the locker room and thought: 'There was no way her mother was going to or could do anything to ruin tonight. Everything had worked out. She was on the team and they were going to kick butt.'

When the time came to begin warm ups Emma walked out of the locker room with the rest of her team Ruby right beside her. Emma had never seen the gym so packed before. Even if she wanted to she wouldn't have been able to find her parents in the pack of people. She was surprised that so many people showed up for the game it wasn't like it was the High school team that actually played in the intra-city tournament, which had a giant trophy and 5 thousand dollar prize money as the reward.

The town had a total of three teams for most sports: the public school team was the Griffins, the private school team was the Knights, and the community center team was the Warriors. Everything under the High school league was considered fun and practice. The high school league was filled with fierce rivalry mainly because there was no other towns close enough to compete against so the competition within town was fierce and a source of entertainment for the everyone.

Emma was the small forward on the team and she was enthusiastic if not skilled at it. Emma had been playing the entire game and it was finally the fourth quarter. Her team, the Storybrooke Griffins, was currently in the lead at 76 to 52. Emma didn't care if they were in the lead or not she was still giving it her all until the final buzzer rang and then and only then would she believe that they had won.

Emma chased after the ball trying to intercept it before the pass was completed. She succeeded and caught the ball but the other team's player caught her and they went down in a heap off body parts. Her head banged against the wooded floor and everything seemed to blur just slightly.

"Emma! Emma! Oh my goodness Emma! Are you ok? Did you get hurt?"

Emma tried swatting away the annoyingly high pitched voice that was buzzing above her.

"I'm fine." She told them. The weight of the other play moved off her and Emma sat up only to realize that the annoying voice belong to her mother. Her mother, who had run out onto the court the moment Emma had been knocked over. Embarrassment flooded through her and she felt herself blushing. She hadn't been the only one to be injured or knocked down tonight yet only her mother rushed out onto the court in the middle of the game.

Emma stood up and tried to distance herself from her mother's fluttering hands.

"Mom what are you doing, go sit down. You're interrupting the game. I'm fine." Emma hissed under her breath.

"Fine? Emma you were just tackled. You need to go see a doctor make sure you don't have a concussion."

"What? No, mom I'm fine and the game's not over yet."

"The game might not be but you certainly are!"

"Mom, you're over exaggerating-"

"I am not. Do you know how dangerous concussions are? You need to get looked at."

Emma flushed even more. Everyone on the court, hell everyone in the gym could hear their conversation now. Emma wanted the floor to just swallow her up so she could disappear. Why couldn't she just have a normal mother? One who didn't run out onto the court whenever their kid got hurt? I mean could anyone imagine what it would be like if every time LeBron James or Michael Jordan got fouled their mother's ran out onto the court to check on them?

Emma wasn't sure what to do she wanted to continue playing, just brush off her mother's overzealous concern but she also wanted the embarrassing scene to end and the only way that was likely to happen was if she followed her mother off the court.

"Mom, please I am seriously begging you go sit down? Please just let me finish playing? Just let me make my own choice. Please."

She didn't know if it would work but it had to. What parent didn't let their own child make their own choices? Sure she knew she didn't know everything and she wasn't an adult but she was old enough to make her own decisions. Her mom was overprotective but her mother had to have some faith in her. She had to let her have just a bit of independence. Right?

"Emma your health is more important than some game. For once can't you just do as I say without fighting me on it? I am trying to do what is best for you? Why don't you ever listen to me?"

Wrong. Emma felt her entire world shatter around her. She hadn't realized it until right this very second but her Mother was too controlling to give any of her control over Emma's life up. She was her mother and she knew what was best, or at least she thought she did. The thing was though was that she wasn't Emma she didn't know what was best for her because she wasn't her. It also wasn't the 15th or 16th century and while she might be her mother it wasn't like she was a _Queen_ or something, no, it was the 21st century and Emma wanted to make her own decisions.

"No…no Mother! You don't know! You don't know what is best for me! I don't even think you care what is best for me! You never listen to what I have to say or what I think! You never listen! For once I wanted you to just care enough to just let me have something that was important to me but you don't! You don't care about me! You care about some ideal me that you _want_ me to be. That's not who I am. I don't like dresses or pink. I don't care about singing lessons or falling asleep in class. I am sick and tired of trying to make you happy. I am sick of you and I only have one thing left to tell you _Mother_ : I fucking hate you!"

Emma didn't care that she was screaming in front of the whole town. She didn't care about the wounded expression or shock on her mother's face. She just couldn't care not anymore. How could she care about someone who had such little respect for her? She was done. Done trying to be the perfect daughter. Done trying to make her mother happy or proud. From now one she was going to just be herself. Do what she wanted or thought was right even if she had to struggle to find out who she was under all the layers her mother had forced her to be.

Emma turned on her heel and stomped out of the gymnasium. She didn't know if anyone had called for her to come back or not. She couldn't hear over the sound of the blood pounding in her ears and she didn't care.

* * *

Emma didn't know where she was going or what she was doing. She only knew two things. One: she absolutely one hundred percent did not feel guilty about anything she said in the gym. Two: She didn't feel like seeing her mother anytime soon. Emma wandered around the school a bit until she ended up in the West lot. The parking lot was nearly completely empty. The gym was on the other side of the school and the few people that were parked there weren't likely at the basketball game. Emma wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on the small brick fence separating the grass from the parking lot when she heard the steady click click of high heels making their way towards her.

Emma looked up to see Mayor Mills as she rounded the corner. Emma had never spoken to the Mayor even though she had seen the woman multiple times throughout her life. She had always just been a part of the scenery in the small town.

"Emma…I didn't realize you were back here. I apologize if I interrupted your thoughts."

"What? Seriously? You had to have been in the gym right? No lecture? Just sorry to have disturbed you?"

Mayor Mills moved closer to the young girl her face completely neutral.

"Why would I lecture you? It is not my place and other than the fact your fight was extremely public I don't believe you were wrong. You obviously have very strong feelings about whatever is bothering you, if the fact you were in public didn't stop you. Bottling your feelings is not a healthy habit. Besides no ones feelings are unimportant the way you went about sharing them may not have been the best or very appropriate but they it seemed like something you needed to get off your chest. "

"So what? I did the right thing?"

"How should I know? I am not you. I do not know anything about your family dynamic. I can't tell you if your actions were right or wrong…what I can tell you is that you should be careful with your words. They may not seem like much but after you say something you can _never_ take it back even if you come to regret it later on. You shouldn't be careless with what you say or write no matter how strongly you feel one way or another."

Emma didn't respond right away she was mulling over what the Mayor had said. She knew the Mayor was talking about when she told her mother that she hated her and not just hate but fucking hated. Emma thought and thought about it before coming to the decision that she didn't regret her words at least not yet. Maybe she was still too angry or maybe she had truly truly meant them. As of right now she was glad she had said it, glad she had gotten it off her chest because after she had said it Emma realized that those words seemed to have been festering in her chest for _years_.

Emma was pulled from her thoughts once again by the click of the Mayors high heels on the pavement. While Emma had sat quietly in thought the Mayor had begun walking towards her car.

"Mayor Mills!" Emma called after the disappearing woman. The Mayor turned and quirked an eyebrow at the girl.

"Thank you…for not lecturing me and for the advice."

Emma wasn't sure why she felt the need to thank the Mayor but it had felt nice not being lecture. Nice having someone at least seem to respect her choices even if they hadn't been the best.

"You're welcome. And Emma I don't know if it matters at all coming from me but you did well." Emma looked startled at the words 'What on Earth does that mean?'

"In the game, you played very well. I am pretty sure you wanted your first game to go differently but you did well. You should be proud of yourself and keep playing. When your old enough the high school team could certainly use you."

Mayor Mills considered the girl in front of her for a moment and noticed how the girl reacted to her words. Emma beamed at her. Literally beamed, and her whole demeanor changed, she sat up straighter and her shoulders no longer sagged and she glowed in the praise that she had received.

Regina had very little to do with the girl as she grew up but she had always kept an eye on the family. She had been surprised but pleased to note that there were obviously issues between the mother and daughter duo despite the fact Emma wasn't even a teenager yet. If things continued like this by the time Emma finally did become a teenager her relationship with her mother would only disintegrate.

Regina smiled; it seemed her revenge was working. They were in a world with no magic or happy endings, and Snow was driving a wedge between herself and her precious daughter without any interference from Regina. The best part of all would be once Emma turned eighteen and the curse would affect her completely freezing her in time along with everyone else. She would forever be a rebellious teenager always fighting against her mother. Snow would be the sole reason behind her own unhappiness and Regina herself just being an observer to the show only gently prodding the blonde further along her path.

"Thank you. I'll keep practicing, I promise." Emma's voice was thick with emotion but the smile remained on her face.

The Mayor smiled once more at the girl before continuing the walk to her car.


	4. Chapter 4

_6 years later (present day)_

Emma groaned. Her head was killing her and she couldn't remember why.

"You awake Em?"

Emma turned towards the voice and cracked open an eye. Ruby was lying on a cot across from her dark circles ringing her eyes.

"No, I think I'm dead. What the hell happened last night?"

"That is what I would like to know." A gruff voice quipped.

Startled Emma sprung up and took in her surroundings. She was in one of the jail cells and Sheriff Graham stood behind a desk taking in both girls.

"Uhhhhhh…"

"What I do know is that you and Ms. Lucas got completely and totally trashed. I am assuming that is what lead to your vandalism spree or did the vandalism come before the drinking?"

Emma shot a look at Ruby but the other girl seemed just as confused as Emma.

"Vandalism spree?"

"Yup. Don't remember? Well what _do_ you remember?"

Emma thought back to the previous night the later parts where blurry but she did remember what had happened before she had started binge drinking with Ruby. She had gotten into another fight with her mother, about the cleanliness of her room, of all things to fight about. After she had met up with Ruby at their hang out in the woods. Ruby had managed to get two full bottles of Jack Daniels from Killian, the son of the local liquor store owner. Emma had gotten drunk with Ruby before but this time she had been pissed with a seemingly unending supply of alcohol and had decided to see if drowning her sorrows in the bottom of the bottle was worth it. Considering the fact she was currently in a jail cell and the last thing she could remember was drunken karaoke with Ruby out in the woods, drowning her sorrows didn't seem like it was worth the trouble. She would definitely remember that for next time and not partake in the toxic liquid, well at least not partake in as _much_.

"I remember drunken karaoke out in the woods. What did we spray paint a tree or something?"

"No, Emma you did _not_ spray paint a tree."

Emma winced at the _loud_ sound of her mother's voice. Mary Margret was standing just inside the door of the station and she was radiating with fury. Over the years Emma had grown accustomed to her mother's varying levels of anger. Her mother had only been this upset twice before and as much as Emma enjoyed pissing her mother off but she really didn't need or want that much of her mother's self-righteous anger directed at her especially not when she had the mother of all hang-overs.

"You _broke into City Hall!_ You trashed the entire building. Every single room! I don't understand why you were even drinking to begin with or where you even got the alcohol but what _on Earth_ where you thinking when you destroyed City Hall!?"

Emma started blankly at her mother her face giving away none of the confusion she felt. Had she really ruined City Hall? Emma knew she had been beyond drunk last night but she could think of absolutely nothing that would lead her to wreak the building.

"Mrs. Nolan-"

"No, I don't want to hear a single word from you! I have told Emma a million times that you were a bad influence on her and she never listened to me. I can't believe you talked my daughter into this. I can't believe she went along with it. Emma has her own issues she doesn't need you leading her into a life of crime."

"Mother, would you shut your, judgmental, self-righteous, mouth. You don't know what happened last night. Hell I don't know what happened last night and I was there! We've been through this before I don't let Ruby pull me into anything. I make my _own_ decisions and despite not remembering everything I can tell you for a fact that last night was _my_ idea, not Ruby's."

That much was true even though she didn't remember anything outside of their hidden cabin in the woods Emma remembered that she was the one who wanted to get black-out drunk. Ruby had warned her that it wasn't the best idea when she had been pissed, but Emma didn't want to listen to reason and had insisted. Anything that had happened after that was on her head.

"In that case I'll make sure your punishment is even worse than Ms. Lucas's."

Everyone in the room turned to see the newest addition to the party. Mayor Mills had walked in just in time to hear both Mary Margret and Emma everyone had been too distracted to have noticed her entrance until she spoke.

Mayor Mills was dressed in black pencil skirt and blood red silk blouse. The most noticeable thing was not her outfit but was in fact the waves of anger that rolled off her. Emma had thought Mary Margret was upset but her anger paled in comparison to the tidal wave of fury that was Mayor Mills. It had been a long time since Emma had responded in any way to a pissed adult but when she registered the Mayor's anger Emma wasn't embarrassed to admit that she felt the urge yelp.

"Punishment?" Emma couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. Punishment. What did you think there would be no repercussions for your completely irresponsible and _criminal_ actions?"

"I- well- Um…"

"First one of you is going to supply the Sheriff with the name of the person who gave you the alcohol."

It wasn't a request, both Emma and Ruby understood that and while most people would say that they were the closest thing to delinquents in Storybrooke neither girl hesitated to answer the Mayor.

"Killian."

"Killian Jones."

The both replied simultaneously barely a second had passed since the Mayor asked for the name. Mayor Mills gave Sheriff Graham a glance and he nodded silently agreeing to take care of the issue.

"Now both of you will be coming with me."

Graham moved silently to the door of each cell and unlocked them. The girls stood hesitantly both still feeling the full effects of their hangover.

"How do you plan on punishing them?"

Mayor Mills didn't even glance at Mary Margret. The Mayor had completely ignored her presence since the moment she had arrived.

"First, they are both going to clean and repair City Hall from top to bottom. After that seeing as how Emma has taken responsibility for the vandalism she will work off every last cent that will go into repairing the destruction she caused."

Emma gulped, she couldn't help it, the steely glint in the Mayor's eyes and the edge in her voice made Emma want to turn tail and run.

"Don't you think-" Mary Margret started.

"I most certainly do _not_ want to hear your opinion on the matter. Seeing as how you have utterly failed to corral your daughter up till this point you are the last person I would ever take advice from on how to deal a misbehaving _child_."

Mary Margret squeaked and if Emma hadn't had a complete sense of forbearing and hadn't just been called a child, despite the fact she was only a month from her eighteenth birthday, she would have found the situation hilarious. Sadly she couldn't enjoy even one second of watching the Mayor chew out her mother.

"You two follow me."

Emma and Ruby trailed silently after the Mayor it wasn't until they were outside that Ruby finally spoke up.

"Uh, Mayor Mills-"

"I have already spoken to your grandmother, Ms. Lucas. She wanted me to tell you that she is completely disappointed in you, in both of you and that you better work your tails off fixing what you destroyed."

"Oh…."

Emma shot Ruby a sympathetic glance it held everything she couldn't say in front of the Mayor. Ruby may be considered a troublemaker but Emma knew that she absolutely hated disappointing the only family member she had left.

The trio walked the short distance from the police station to City Hall in absolute silence. When they came upon City Hall Emma froze. The building was covered in toilet paper, windows were broken, and across the front lawn someone had spray painted the words: _Down with The Queen_. Emma could easily recognize her style and hand writing behind the spray paint. Also not even Ruby knew that she continuously referred to her mother as The Queen and Emma doubted that anyone else in town used that title to refer to anyone.

"Your handiwork I presume, Miss Nolan?" Mayor Mills asked.

The Mayor noticed how the blonde had frozen and how her eyes had zeroed in on the spray paint. Regina watched even the most minuscule changes on the girls face trying to decode what was behind that message. The last thing Regina had ever expected was for those words to haunt her in a town that was cursed to forget all about her past. So why had the teen spray painted that in the lawn of _her_ office when the girl had never even known her as the Evil Queen?

"Maybe."

The last lingering doubt in Emma's mind that she hadn't been responsible for trashing City Hall had fled her mind. She was in so so so much deep shit.

"As angry and annoyed as I am by the whole matter I am also curious as to why Queen comment. I may not be the softest of people but I like to think I am not _ruling_ _over_ Storybrooke. Guiding it, yes. Maybe even ruling but not ruling over, like a monarch would."

Emma glanced up at the mayor her face reddening with embarrassment.

"It's not directed at you Madame Mayor."

"Oh, In that case who is it directed at and why did you find the need to spray paint it onto _my_ lawn?"

"That's not important."

Emma tried to dismiss the question she didn't want to explain anything to the Mayor. Adults never really cared and therefore never really listened. It didn't matter to anyone _why_ she had done what she did all they cared about was that she had done it. Emma looked away from the Mayor her eyes raking across the building once more. If this was how bad the outside looked she shuddered to imagine the inside.

The Mayor stepped into Emma's personal space and dragged the girl's eyes back to hers. The Mayor kept her hand firmly on the girl's chin to make sure she had the girl's undivided attention.

"Let's get something straight right now Miss Nolan. I did not care for an instant about you're family issues or teenage drama so long as it had no effect on this town it was none of my business. Now you have made it my business. You may have issues with authority but remember this: I am not your mother and until you have repaired everything and worked of the cost of those repairs you _will not_ test my patience. Understood?"

Emma really wanted to yank her chin out of the Mayor's grasp and tell her to fuck off but something in the older woman's voice or was it the look in her eye? Well whatever it was it made it very clear to Emma that for the time being at least she shouldn't push any of the Mayor's buttons.

"Understood." Emma tried to keep the underlying anger out of her voice but she was unsure of whether or not she had succeeded. The Mayor held on for a second longer seemingly searching for something Emma didn't know what but it lasted barely a second before the Mayor released her.

"The same goes for you as well Miss Lucas."

"You have my full cooperation, Madame Mayor. I can only take so much trouble at any one point in time and I am currently at my maximum capacity."

Regina rolled her eyes at the teen's antics.

"Now, who exactly is that a message for, Miss Nolan?"

"If you must know it is for my mother."

Regina arched an eyebrow but said nothing. 'Oh the irony' she thought before continuing towards towards her office. She heard the sounds of the girls trailing behind her. Underneath her feelings of boiling anger Regina felt the knot of tension that had been plaguing her since she had seen the message dissipate. The message hadn't been meant for her, no one had suddenly remembered the past. On that note she could relax but only on that note.

The inside of the building was much worse than the outside. Papers lay scattered everywhere, furniture was broken and tons of spray paint covered the walls. The worst part however were the looks that both Emma and Ruby received by the various civil servants that lined the halls.

The Mayor led them over to a lanky blonde who looked barely older than either Emma or Ruby.

"Ms. Williams these are the culprits of all the damage. You are in charge of the clean-up efforts so that means you can use both these girls any way you see fit in order to get this building fixed back up. If either of them gives you any trouble at all don't hesitate to call me. Seeing as today is Saturday they can spend the entire weekend working. After that they can spend their days _before_ and after school working."

"Of course, Madame Mayor."

With that the Mayor turned on her heel and stalked away from the trio not sparing another glance at the teens whose lives now appeared to be at the temperamental Mayor's mercy.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma sighed and wished she could take a break. She and Ruby had been cleaning for _hours_ without as much as a break. Emma was sweating, tired, hungry, and she was still being affected by her hang-over.

"Williams, I get that we are basically indentured slaves until this place sparkles but us collapsing from dehydration isn't going to do anyone any favors!"

The older blonde looked up at the girls who were currently picking up all the toilet paper and pieces of broken glass. They had been working outside for a while now and she supposed they could have a break. Williams had decided that even though it would take more than two days for City hall to be fixed up the first place to start had been on the outside of the building so that it would at least appear better from the outside.

"Fine, come on. Both of you can get a break."

Emma and Ruby followed the older girl back into the building and towards a break area where they each grabbed a glass of water and began guzzling it down.

"So tell me how drunk do you have to be to even think that destroying City hall is a good idea let alone actually doing it? I mean seriously what was your reasoning behind that genius decision?"

Emma glared at the older girl while Ruby shot her friend a concerned glance. Neither girl remembered much about last night but Ruby remembered more than Emma.

Emma had always had issues with her mother and authority in general but Ruby knew that things would never have escalated to this point if Emma's father had been around. David had always been the buffer between the two strong willed and bull headed women. Sadly four years ago the winter after they started high school Emma's father had been in a bad accident and his truck went off the old toll bridge. Ever since David has been in a coma and Emma's relationship with her mother and authority in general has been in a down spiral.

Sadly last night had Emma had reached a breaking point and was pissed when she showed up at the cottage. Ruby was sure they had trashed City Hall to get back at Mary Margret for her latest plan in controlling Emma.

Ruby's thoughts went back to the previous night.

* * *

 _Ruby was sitting in the abandoned cabin in the woods that she and Emma had found a few years ago and had fixed up into their own personal hide-out. Ruby hadn't had a break from the diner in a month and she was excited to be able to just lay back and relax as she flipped through the completely pointless magazine._

 _Granny had decided the best way to keep her out of trouble was for Ruby to have zero time to actually have a life. Next to Ruby sitting on the floor were the two bottles of Jack Daniels that she had gotten off the douche that was Killian Jones earlier that day. Ruby couldn't wait for Emma to show up so that they could unwind together and just enjoy each other's company for the first time in what felt like forever._

 _When the door burst open and Emma strode in Ruby was off the chair in an instant, as soon as she saw her best friend's face, the magazine lay forgotten in a heap on the floor._

" _What happened?"_

 _The door slammed behind Emma and the blonde began pacing._

" _She's impossible! I don't understand how someone can be so conceited and yet be so intrusive!"_

 _Ruby moved closer to her friend wondering if she should try and calm her down or if letting her rage was better._

" _What did she do now?"_

 _Emma stopped pacing and faced Ruby. Ruby had been friends with Emma since they were in kindergarten and Ruby could barely remember she had seen the blonde look so unguarded._

" _I found a nanny cam in my room! She's been fucking spying on me! Who does that, I mean really?"_

 _Ruby felt her blood run cold. She knew that Mary Margret has always been_ invested _in Emma's life but actually using a camera to spy on her?_

" _Do you know how long it's been there?"_

" _No clue but it has to have been in the last two weeks because if it was up before she would have seen…"_

 _Emma trailed of her face flushing as she thought of her mother seeing her in bed with someone._

" _Who was it last?"_

 _Emma had more than one "girlfriend" and every now and then she would bring one of them back to her house because she liked the risk of possibly getting caught. At least that is what she said but Ruby thought the real reason was because Emma didn't know how else to come out to her mother so she figured the most explosive way would be best._

" _Kathryn...and Isabel."_

" _Both of them? Really Emma?"_

" _What? Like you're any better."_

 _Ruby couldn't help it she laughed. Emma was right neither of them were very "normal" when it came to their extracurricular activities in bed._

 _Emma offered Ruby a weak smile and collapsed onto the couch. Her eyes finding the booze by Ruby's vacated chair._

" _Now what did you have to do to get_ two _bottles of Jack. Killian is very strict with his business transactions. He never sells more than a certain amount a week and_ no one _can get two bottles out of him."_

" _They just don't have my charm."_

" _Hey! I got better moves than you and I can't get two bottles from that creep."_

" _I am not agreeing with that statement my moves kick ass. And while you might not be out to your mother it is common knowledge at the school that you a full-fledged and pledged Dyke."_

" _There was a pledge involved?"_

" _Shut up Blondie."_

" _I'll shut up if you hand me a bottle of Jack. I'm not stopping till I forget everything."_

" _Is that a good idea?"_

 _Ruby asked but she crossed to grab both bottles of Jack._

" _Probably not but I want a few hours to just forget. Just once and when will I get another chance to get black out drunk with my best friend?"_

 _Emma broke open her bottle and held it up in a false happy cheer. Ruby not use to seeing her friend look so hopeless sighed and opened her bottle._

" _Cheers." She told her friend before taking long swig._

 _Ruby collapsed next to Emma on the floor both of them were giggling like crazy unable to stop. Singing or in their case trying to sing half-forgotten Disney songs while completely smashed was truly a hilarious experience._

" _That is soooo not how 'Kiss the Girl' goes, Emma!"_

" _Are you sure cause I could have sworn it was:_

 _There you see her_

 _Sitting there across the way_

 _She don't got a lot to say_

 _But there's something smokin' about her_

 _And you don't know why_

 _But you're dying to try_

 _You wanna french the girl"_

 _Ruby doubled over once more laughter shaking her frame._

" _You are such a Dyke."_

" _Why thank you, kind Lady."_

" _Since when is that a compliment?"_

" _When it involves me? Everything is a compliment."_

" _So if I said: Bitch, Idiot, bottle blonde? All those are compliments?"_

" _Nope only if they have to do with me and I am none of those."_

" _Well, you are kinda a bitch."_

" _Depends on who I'm being a bitch to but when I am they deserve it so in that case it is a compliment."_

" _You have an answer to everything don't you?"_

"… _I wish…"_

 _Ruby heard the change of tone in her friend's voice and looked intently at her. Emma's eyes seemed to have filled but that was ludicrous. Emma hadn't cried since her father had his accident._

" _Emma…what don't you have an answer to?"_

 _Ruby wasn't sure if her question made any sense but she wasn't really sure anything made any sense. She had had way too much alcohol and decided that any more tonight would be a very bad idea._

" _I…Ruby why aren't I good enough? I don't understand why I still care but I do I care about what she thinks of me and I just want…I just I want her to respect me. To understand right or wrong I can make my own decisions."_

 _Ruby didn't need to ask who the she was that Emma was talking about and her heart clenched._

" _She thinks she is always right, always knows best. And she's not! Even if she was going through life always making the_ right _decisions isn't living! I want to make mistakes and experience life without someone trying to make me seem like I am some ignorant child or delinquent! I feel like I am walking on ice or balancing on a tight rope one wrong move and I am going to fall and there won't be anything beneath me to save me. If I actually screwed up majorly no one in this town would stick by me or see the good, as little is there is, in me. They would just all persecute me._

" _You don't know that for a fact Emma. I mean I care and I am sure someone else does as well. Besides do I not count?"_

" _Rubes you're in a different league, we are the only two in town who realize that mistakes don't diminish a person's value. It isn't the same. It is like if this was a Disney movie I would be a villain and so would you getting support from another villain isn't the same as support from a_ hero _. I am just so sick of feeling like I am about to fall to my doom and I have no idea of what to do about it."_

 _The tears in Emma's eyes slowly began to streak down her face. The utter hopelessness in Emma's voice tore at Ruby's heart but she had no idea what to do to fix it. She just knew she had to do something otherwise she felt something bad would happen involving Emma._

" _Then don't fall Emma and don't try and keep balancing…Jump."_

 _Emma looked at Ruby confusion written clearly in her tear filled gaze._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Make a horrible mistake, but on purpose. Do you absolute worse and sit back to see what happens."_

"… _if I did that maybe than I could finally prove to myself just how little she and everyone else really care about me. I can't be anyone but myself and if I screw up really bad there won't be a single person in this town who would ever expect anything but failure from me. Then I could finally leave. Finally escape this town without any regrets. I-I've tried before Rubes but I just ended up at the town line unable to cross. Somethings holding me back and I just need to prove to myself that no one cares…If I do what you're suggesting I could finally free myself from these invisible chains that are holding me down."_

 _Emma fell silent for a moment and Ruby held her breath. Ruby didn't want Emma to leave town and she didn't know if she would be able to leave with her. Ruby didn't think she could do that to her Gran, but Ruby could tell that if Emma continued on the path she was on nothing good would come from it. Ruby didn't know if anyone would stand by their side if they did something completely crazy but no matter the outcome of this experiment either path would be better for her friend than the one she was currently one and what was best for Emma was all that matter right now._

" _Ok I'll do it…and I know just what to do."_

 _A slightly water but mischievous grin lit up Emma's face. Ruby could tell based on that look alone that Emma was going to have fun releasing her worst on the small sleepy town no matter the emotional turmoil she had tuck away in there somewhere. That fact made Rube wince in sympathy for the town's people and she rethought this idea briefly but it was already too late. Emma was tugging her up while taking another gulp of Jack._

" _Come on we have a lot to do and half the night is already gone."_

 _Ruby wasn't sure she wanted to know what Emma had planned but she knew she couldn't let Emma walk into this alone._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry the update took forever life decided to get very busy and I was swamped to make up for it I am posting two chapters. Anyway hope you like the story and I will try and keep up with regular updates for you fabulous readers ;)**

* * *

Regina settled back into the booth taking in the tense standoff between the two teens. She wondered what that was about. In the last 17 years she couldn't remember once when the two girls seemed less than friendly with each other.

"I don't need to separate the two of you now do I?"

Both girls jumped a looked at her like they hadn't even realized that she had returned. 'Curious.' Regina thought. What could have possible absorbed them so that they would forget her existence like that.

"Well?" she asked when neither said anything.

"We're fine." Emma said.

All through lunch neither girl met her eyes again or said much of anything to her or each other. Every now and then Regina caught Emma casting questioning glances towards Ruby and whenever the other girl picked up on it a dark flush covered her face.

Regina shook her head 'Teenagers.' She thought as if that explained everything.

Emma was sulking and she knew it but how else was she supposed to respond when she finds out her best friend was hiding something from her? Ruby refused to even look at her through lunch and their entire walk back. Emma wasn't going to grovel so except from the questioning glance pointed in Ruby's direction Emma said absolutely nothing.

That afternoon Emma finished cutting the grass which got rid of most of the paint. Once she finished she finished picking up the last bit of garbage that littered the place before being herded inside. Williams put her to work cleaning up a different part of the building than where Ruby was so she didn't get a chance to question her…or in Emma's case throw looks in her direction.

Emma didn't see Williams again until 6 o'clock that night. She wandered into the room barely bothering to look up from her phone and throwing a quick "you can go home for now" in her direction before disappearing out the door. Emma tossed the papers she had been picking up back onto the ground and started for the door before stopping.

What was the point in leaving? The only place she had to go was home and as soon as she stepped one foot into the door her mother would be there to pounce on her to beginning what Emma was sure would be the lecture of all lectures. That really didn't seem like a pleasant option so Emma bent back down and restarted her cleaning again.

"What are you still doing here?"

Mayor Mills stood in the doorway staring at the teen who she had secretly been watching for the past five minutes. The girl had been working diligently regardless of the fact Regina had sent Ms. Williams to send her home three hours ago.

"I just got off the phone with your mother who was demanding to know why her daughter had yet to return home. When she learned that I had sent you home hours ago she was…livid."

A burst of bitter laughter burst from the blonde.

"Don't worry she would be livid anyway. You interrupted her lecture this morning. She has probably been thinking about it all day changing little things and just waiting for me to get home just so she can deliver her Oscar winning performance.'

Regina arched a brow at the blonde.

"Oh?"

"Mmhh, why else do you think I would stay so late into the night. As bad as this is it beats listening to my mother drone on and on?"

"If you hate her lectures so much why do continue to place yourself in a position that makes her feel as though you need a lecture?"

"Because if I went through life the way she wanted me to, which would be the only way to avoid them, I would miss out on life."

"How exactly does she want you to go through life?"

"She wants me to always make the _right_ decisions and be _good_ which is a load of crap. Making mistakes is what life is all about. If you went through life always making the _right_ choices you would miss out on so much. Mistakes help people grow help people learn, without them we would all be boring and there would be little individualism."

"Hmm, and what about being _good?"_

Emma arched an eyebrow at her and folded her arms in a perfect imitation of her stance. Regina was slightly amused but she easily hid the emotion.

"That one is simple: good is boring. I want more excitement in my life I don't want to give up my happiness or who I am just to make my mother happy. So what if she isn't proud of me or is disappointed I am not the perfect daughter. I am who I am and for the record I like who I am."

Mayor Mills said nothing and silence fell between them. Emma wished she could tell what the Mayor was thinking but her expression was just too guarded.

"In any event you still need to return home and since I don't trust you to not disappear into the night. It appears that I will be driving you home. Come along."

Emma said nothing and after contemplating whether or not to follow the brunette for a minute she kicked the garbage out of her way and went looking for her ride.

The car ride was completely silently and when the Mayor pulled up in front of her house Emma was unsure what was worse staying in the silent car or going inside to face her mother.

Unable to find a way out of her predicament Emma put on her big girl panties and got out of the car. Apparently the Mayor didn't trust her enough to actually make it to the door without bolting and had gotten out of the car as well. Emma didn't have her keys on her because when she had left the previous night for the cabin Emma had been too upset to remember to grab any off her stuff. So she waited awkwardly outside the door into the apartment for her mom to open the door.

"Emma…Mayor Mills. What are you doing here?"

"I was unsure of whether or not Emma would make it home without an escort so I drove her. Until she completes fixing up City Hall she has unfortunately become my responsibility therefore I needed to make sure she actually returned home. Seeing as she apparently forgot her way home earlier when she was dismissed."

Emma had zero reaction throughout and as the Mayor spoke she saw her opportunity and snuck past her mother into the house and made a beeline for her room. Emma had successfully made it into her room before her mother even noticed her disappearing act.

"Emma Louise Nolan!"

Her mother's voice echoed after her but she had already shut her door and maneuvered her dresser in front of the door. It wasn't a lock but it had worked pretty well the last few times Emma had needed her privacy.

Emma fell onto her bed hit her stereo and pulled a pillow over her head. Soon the relaxing sounds of a French pop band began blaring, hopefully it would be enough to block out her mother. Gratefully Emma fell asleep.

* * *

Emma woke up tears running down her cheeks. Furiously Emma wiped at them. Most of her attention was on the dream she had which Emma knew wasn't actually a dream it had been some of her memories from the previous night. Suddenly what Ruby had said at the diner made sense but she wished it didn't. Emma had voiced things that night that she never even allowed herself to think before. Emma crawled out of bed and made her way into her bathroom.

"Can't change the past. The future however you can."

Emma rushed through her morning routine and was out of the apartment before her mother was even awake. Emma was shocked at the fact she was up and out of the house before her mother and she had no idea how she actually accomplished that feat. Emma figured she should thank her memories of that night for waking her up otherwise she would have had to face her mother. She knew she could only avoid her mother for so long but she would continue to stretch her luck until it broke.

The only down side to being out of the house before her mother was the fact that she arrived at City Hall before 6 o'clock. Emma tried the door but it was locked and she doubted that the Mayor would like it very much if she picked the lock on the door for a second time. Emma sat on the steps of the building her back settled against the door. She closed her eyes and relaxed it would be a while before someone showed up to unlock the door so she might as well enjoy the silence.

The clicking of high heels pulled Emma out of her light sleep and she opened her eyes to see Mayor Mills making her way towards her. The Mayor's brow arched when Emma looked up at her. Emma didn't answer the Mayor's silent question and the Mayor let the girl have her silence.

Regina ignored the teen on the front steps of her office and unlocked the door. She did idly wonder what had happened between the girl and her mother last night after she had left but Regina saw no point in asking the girl. Emma had still showed up and as far as Regina was concerned that was all she cared about.

Emma got up and followed the Mayor into the empty building. Emma, still feeling the need to be left alone, quickly disappeared off into the room she had left last night and picked up right where she left off.

Slowly the morning pasted and more people finally began arriving and Emma wondered curiously if Ruby had shown up yet or not. Emma didn't bother looking for or asking anyone about her friend. Emma was in a way enjoying her morning because so far not one person had bothered her and she had been left alone to clean in peace.

It was nearly lunch when someone decided to ruin her peaceful day.

Sara Williams walked into the room Emma was currently clean and she looked at the younger blonde with such an _'I'm better than you'_ look that Emma felt like slapping her.

"Emma, your mom is up front and wants to see you."

Emma wanted to groan, there went her peaceful day, but she refused to give the older girl the satisfaction. Instead Emma said nothing as she passed.

Mary Margret was waiting in the lobby for Emma and as soon as she spotted Emma she stood and strode towards her daughter.

"Outside."

With the sun finally up the weather was actually decent and Emma wished she didn't have to spend it inside. Emma loved the outdoors and she spent her days in the woods or at the park on the basketball court whenever she got the chance.

"Where were you this morning?"

Her mother's sharp voice pulled Emma out of her thoughts and back to the situation at hand.

"Here."

"Before that where were you? You were gone before 6 and City hall doesn't even open until 8 so where were you?"

"I've been here all day."

"Do you really expect me to believe that? "

"No not really seeing as there wasn't a nanny cam to watch my every move."

Emma shot back at her mother her anger turning the words poisonous. Mary Margret blanched and spluttered for a few minutes.

"Seriously ? A nanny cam mother? That goes way beyond violating my privacy."

"It would never have happened if I could trust you! You sneak out. You skip school. You apparently spend your time getting drunk and vandalizing public property! What else am I supposed to do? You're out of control Emma. If you keep it up you are never going to get into college or make something of yourself!"

"What if I don't want to go to college?"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you are going to college."

Emma bristled, she didn't want to go to college she already had plans for her life and college was not one of them.

"What does it even matter that's not the point? The point was that you were spying on me can we get back to talking about that!"

"How about we talk about what lead to the camera, your behavior."

Emma glared at her mother. She was always ready to scold Emma for every little, or big, thing but she always refused to take any responsibility for her own actions. Every time Emma wanted to talk about one of her short comings the conversation did a 180 and suddenly Emma was being lectured for something she did wrong or like now she placed the blame of her actions on Emma.

"Your right silly me I forgot for a second that you were the perfect Mary Margret, her Royal Highness who never does any wrong."

Mary Margret opened her mouth to say something but she was interrupted by another voice.

"Emma!"

Mother and daughter turned to see Regina standing on the steps of City hall.

"I didn't realize that you were still speaking with your mother, I just came to inform you that it's time for lunch."

Emma happily used this opportunity to stalk away from her mother and ducked into the sanctuary that City hall offered her.

"I'll make sure Emma is out of here in time for dinner tonight." Emma heard the Mayor tell her mother. Emma smiled at the clear dismissal before she returned to the room she had been cleaning before she had been interrupted. The building was looking better but there was still a lot left to clean and fix up and with only her and Ruby working on it, it would probably take a good two weeks of hard labor.

"That doesn't look like lunch."

Mayor Mills had followed Emma only to find instead of taking a break she had went straight back to work.

"Not hungry."

"Really? Still you should eat something; you're still growing your body needs the nutrients."

"I'll eat later."

The Mayor didn't reply and when Emma looked up again the Mayor was gone.

Two hours later Emma moved to another room, which looked like the outer office where a secretary for some civil servant big shot worked. Sitting on the desk was half a deviled egg sandwich and an apple along with a note. Emma picked up the note and read:

 _Miss Nolan,_

 _I figured you have yet to take your lunch break. Skipping meals really isn't healthy for a teenager but I can understand why you wouldn't want to eat if you aren't hungry. This is but a snack if you feel so inclined. It should be just enough to give you some energy and not too much since you aren't hungry. Feel free to eat it or toss it into the trash._

 _Ps. It would be a travesty if the sandwich went to waste it is a masterpiece. If you don't believe me just take one bite I can assure you it is the best Deviled egg salad sandwich you ever tasted._

 _Mayor Mills._

Emma picked up the sandwich to throw it away but her curiosity got the better of her and she decided one bite couldn't hurt. One bite did hurt because one bite wasn't enough, hell half a sandwich wasn't enough. As soon as it was gone Emma was left wanting for more. Since that wasn't an option she picked up the apple and went back to work.

A little while later the door of the inner office opened and Mayor Mills stepped through.

"Miss Nolan, how was the snack?"

Emma glanced at the table quickly than back at the Mayor.

"I don't know I tossed it."

Emma was unsure of why she lied but she felt that if she told the truth she would have lost. Lost what she didn't know and that was a question she wanted answered. Instead of looking disappointed or angry a knowing smirk settled on the Mayor's face and Emma felt the need to blush but she pushed the feeling down.

"Pity, it was a very good sandwich."

Emma focused on her work instead of the Mayor, the smirk she was wearing made Emma nervous.

"Where's your secretary?"

"Ms. Simmons recently quit, he father was having…heart problems and she decided she needed to focus her time on taking care of him."

"Oh." Emma didn't know what else to say, she didn't know Ms. Simmons or her father and didn't really care one way or another. The only reason she had asked was to change the conversation and hopefully get rid of the smirk on the Mayors face.

"Mhmm,"

Apparently the Mayor wasn't that upset of the whole thing either and Emma relaxed. She was glad that the Mayor wasn't the type of person who would go on and on about how sad it was about the father or how much she would miss her secretary.

"This is probably a good time to tell you that once you finish fixing up the building I plan on having you fill in as my new secretary. Hopefully you will be better at it then Ms. Simmons was."

"Won't my school get in the way of actually doing the job properly?"

"Not really, I take care of my schedule myself and the rest of the important things myself. My secretary just needs to run errands and do what I tell her to when needed. You should be able to do that, correct?"

"According to my mother I apparently can never do as I am told, so the job might be a bit out of my league."

"Unfortunately, for you Miss Nolan I am not your mother and when I tell someone to do something it gets done. You have a functioning brain as far as I am aware and therefore there is no reason for you to fail at any of the tasks I will ask of you."

After that the Mayor disappeared back into her office leaving Emma to continue with her work.

That night the Mayor drove Emma home again once she was finished for the day. The Mayor had stayed later than anyone else so Emma worked longer as well but she really had nothing to complain about because every second she was at City hall was another second she was away from her mother.

The Mayor dropped her off after another silent drive home, and Emma climbed the stairs to the apartment alone. Diner was on the table waiting for her when she entered the apartment as was her mother who hadn't forgotten their conversation earlier that day. Before Emma even sat down her mother had started into a lecture focused solely on Emma and never once did her mother bring up the camera that she had planted in Emma's room.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few weeks settled into a pattern and easily blurred together. Emma would get up in the mornings and go to school after which she would show up at City hall and clean. Once the building had been put right Emma then spent her afternoons in the Mayor's outer office. She answered the phone and put files away and read through boring paper work to make sure it was being sent to the right place. After work the Mayor always drove her home in silence. On the weekends Emma would spend her entire days at City hall. Even Sundays when the only other person who showed up was the Mayor, who would disappear into her office leaving Emma to sit bored out of her mind in the outer office.

The weeks passed so blurrily that when Emma woke up on her eighteenth birthday she had completely forgotten about its significance until she went downstairs only to have her mother throw confetti in her face and shout.

"Happy eighteenth birthday!"

On the table was a very large box wrapped in white and silver paper with a large manila envelope on top with a bow stuck to it. Mary Margret pulled Emma into a quick heartfelt hug before she tossed pink confetti in the air. Emma stared at her mother shocked as the confetti settled around her and in her hair.

"I know we have had a tough couple years but these last few weeks have been better. You haven't skipped a single class, you have been working diligently at City hall, and you have even stopped sneaking out at night. I just want you to know how proud I am and that your efforts at being more responsible haven't gone unnoticed."

Mary Margret ushered Emma over to the table and gestured madly at the presents on the table.

Curious about the box Emma moved the envelope and tore at the wrapping paper. Underneath was an unassuming wooden case. Emma ran her hands over the varnished surface before moving her hands towards the clasps. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Emma undid the clasps and holding her breath she opened the case.

There inside resting on soft emerald velvet was an acoustic guitar. Not just any guitar but a custom made guitar. Emma knew from the moment she saw the case that it was Marco's, the old wood-worker's, craftsmanship. That alone made the present priceless but what truly took Emma's breath away and brought tears to her eyes was the inscription on the body of the guitar. It was only one word but that single word made the guitar her singularly most prized procession she would ever own.

The word carved into the guitar was: Swan. Swan was her father's nickname for Emma. Seeing the old nickname made her think back to the first time her father had referred to her after the majestic bird.

* * *

 _Emma glared at the book of sheet music in front of her. It was a beginner's guide for the guitar, which she had been learning for the last few months. For her 10_ _th_ _birthday Emma's father, David, had presented her with an old beat up guitar that he had found at a garage sale. At first Emma had wrinkled her nose at the present but her father just laughed. "The guitar isn't the present Emma, the guitar lessons I plan on giving you are." He had told her._

 _Emma hadn't been very impressed at first but soon after the first lesson Emma found herself drawn to the lessons. Now a few months later Emma's ability with the guitar surpassed her fathers. Emma had taken to music with certain zeal. When she played she was always filled with a sense of freedom and she spent hours playing when she could._

 _Right now however Emma was glaring in frustration at the sheet music in front of her before picking up a loose sheet on the bed next to her. Emma was working on her own song but it was driving her insane she just couldn't get the notes to_ flow _right, and it was absolutely maddening. She had taken to studying her practice sheet music trying to find what it was she was missing._

 _A knock sounded at her door pulling her attention away from the music._

" _Come in, Dad!" Emma called. She knew it was her father because her mother never knocked, no matter how many times she asked her to._

" _Hey, Em how's it going?"_

 _Emma groaned in response and fell back onto her bed._

" _Not well, huh?"_

 _David moved further into the room and sat on the bed next to his daughter._

" _What's wrong?"_

" _I just can't get it right!" Emma growled in frustration._

" _Hmm…Would you mind playing it for me?"_

 _Emma reluctantly stood up and grabbed her guitar that was standing against the wall. She didn't bother sitting back on the bed or even looking at the sheet music. Emma knew the notes by heart after spending so much time staring at them. Soon a slow and slightly mournful song was plucked out of the guitar strings. When Emma got to the pace where the notes just ended on the sheet, instead of stopping she kept playing. Now that the music was surrounding her she found it was easier to work out what it was she wanted._

 _After Emma finished she set the guitar back down and looked hesitantly at her father who was staring at her in wonder._

" _That was amazing."_

" _It's a little rough I need to work on it more…"_

" _No, not at all it is absolutely perfect. You are going to be the next Beethoven or Mozart."_

" _Dad, now you're really exaggerating."_

" _Am not. You were majestic as was your song…You were a Swan."_

" _A swan?"_

" _Yup, a swan. When you play, you have more grace than I have ever seen you exhibit, it's shocking really but you my darling daughter are my little Swan."_

" _You're a weirdo."_

 _David just laughed at her with an adoring smile on his face._

* * *

After that he continuously referred to her as his little Swan to tease her at first then he began using it when bragging about her skills to his friends and coworkers. It didn't take long for the nickname to grow on Emma but after her father's accident Emma refused to let anyone call her Swan. The one time her mother tried after the accident Emma had exploded at her and surprisingly Mary Margret never tried using the nickname again.

Seeing her old nickname on the guitar meant more to Emma than she could ever possibly convey. Wordlessly she wrapped her mother in a hug, the first one in years. Mary Margret was startled but soon she lovingly returned the embrace.

Emma wasn't use to the touchy-feely stuff and released her mother quickly. She turned her attention to the instrument and studied it more carefully. It was absolutely perfect and Emma was suffering from conflicting emotions. She wanted nothing more than to pick it up and play it however she felt that touching it and getting her fingerprints all over it was blasphemes.

"It's perfect. Absolutely perfect."

Mary Margret laughed in delight at the obvious awe her daughter showered on the guitar.

"Are you going to open your other present?"

"I don't need anything else, this is perfect."

"You've said that. Come on Emma open the other one."

Emma picked up the envelope from where she placed it and tore it open with none of the reverence she had with the guitar. Inside was a packet of papers, the first page was a letter addressed to Emma. The first line read: _ **Congratulations, Emma Nolan on your acceptance to Plymouth State University.**_

Emma didn't read the rest of it. Even if she wanted to Emma didn't think she could. Everything had turned red and the only thing she knew for a fact was that she was angry.

In a deadly calm voice Emma addressed her mother. All her early happiness forgotten.

"I never applied to Plymouth State. I haven't applied to any college, so why did they send me an acceptance letter?"

"I sent an application in for you. The last few years have been rough on you Emma but I didn't want you to miss out on early acceptance. I sent a couple more applications in but I haven't heard back from any other school yet. Later in the year we can sit down and apply to a few more if you don't get into a school you like. I put you down as undecided since you know you've been accepted to at least one school you can spend your senior year figuring out what you want to major in instead of where you plan to go."

The smile on Mary Margret's face told Emma that her mother didn't realize just how _wrong_ her actions were. Emma opened her mouth; she didn't know what she was going to say. Hell, she didn't know if she was going to yell or not, but before a single syllable left her mouth she closed it with a snap.

'What was the point,' Emma thought. 'What was the point of _saying_ anything if the person you were speaking to didn't listen?'

Emma let the papers fall from her hands and silently she turned and walked towards the door of the apartment.

"Emma! Emma where are you going?"

Emma ignored the shouts behind her and just kept walking. She didn't know where she was going but she did know she could, she _wouldn't_ , spend another minute in that house. Tears stung Emma's eyes but she refused to let them fall. 'Not yet.' She told herself. She refused to cry anywhere where her mother could still possibly see.

As Emma walked her anger weakened and instead she felt stupid for those five minutes after she had unwrapped the guitar and felt as though maybe, just maybe she could fix the relationship between herself and her mother. In those five minutes she had allowed herself to feel cared about and loved by her mother. She _knew_ her mother did in fact actually love her but her mother was just so _right_ about everything.

Mary Margret _always_ knew what was best and refused to listen to other options. Emma knew that her mother just wanted Emma to be happy and have her best chance when it came to life. What her mother didn't understand was that Emma didn't _want_ her best chance. All she wanted was a chance to make her own decisions. To be able to choose her own path and deal with the consequence when she came to them.

Emma had a plan for her life, she knew it wasn't what her mother wanted or thought was best but it was what _Emma_ wanted for _her_ life. The thing that really cut Emma deep was the fact that Mary Margret had never once asked Emma what she wanted for her life. Her mother just always thought that Emma would be fine with the future that she had picked out for her, but she wasn't.

Emma didn't realize where she was until her feet stopped moving. She was on the porch of the Mayor's manor. Emma didn't know why her feet had brought her here instead of to Ruby's like they usually did and in that moment she didn't care. Raising her arm she knocked softly on the front door at first but after the first knock she began pounding on the door. Every blow she landed on the door was filled with desperation; she just wanted to get out. She wanted a way out of her mother's smothering embrace.

When the door opened her hands fell limply to her sides and she stared into the eyes of a livid Mayor.

The anger in the Mayor's eyes quickly disappeared soon to be replaced with confusion.

"Emma? "


	8. Chapter 8

The anger in the Mayor's eyes quickly disappeared soon to be replaced with confusion.

"Emma? "

Emma said nothing she couldn't think, couldn't move. All her thoughts and feelings were welling up inside her and she felt like she was about to explode.

"What happened you're soaking wet."

Emma glanced down at herself, the Mayor was right she was drenched. It was raining outside and Emma just walked halfway across town not even realizing it.

Regina silently took in the girl's appearance and the vulnerable look in her eyes. Regina didn't know what had happened to the youth but whatever had happened seemed to have broken her spirit. Her no answer was forth coming about what had lead the girl to be on her front porch Regina sighed and moved out of the way.

"Get inside before you catch a cold."

Still silent Emma moved across the threshold and into Regina's house. She stood silently in the foyer water dripping from her cloths onto the tile.

"Follow me."

Regina led the way to her guest bathroom and ushered the girl inside so that her wet clothes didn't ruin anything.

"Take off those wet clothes and take a warm shower. I'll try and find you something dry to wear and throw your clothes in the dryer. When your done we can talk."

Emma nodded and silently began stripping out of her clothes, ignoring the fact that Regina was still in the room. 'More likely she forgot I was even here.' Regina thought as she took in the girl again. Regina left before Emma had taken off anything more than her shirt and exposed anything other than her lean golden abs.

Regina moved down the hall to her room and rummaged around until she found an old t-shirt and sweat pants, both had never been worn.

Regina wondered what Snow had done to the girl that had this effect on her. Over the years Regina had seen Emma annoyed, angered, upset, livid, and embarrassed because of Snow, but never once had Regina ever seen the strong willed girl look so _defeated._ She would never admit it to anyone but it worried her, greatly. Over the years Regina had come to have a grudging respect for the girl.

After Emma had wrecked City Hall she thought she had been wrong about the girl, that she was in fact nothing more than a brainless idiot like her parents. Then she had gotten the chance to know Emma better once she began working as Regina's secretary and Regina was forced to admit that Emma was many things but an idiot was not one of them. Emma was proud, and strong, and funny, and loud, and sometimes immature; however, she was also a good worker, and fair, and very smart. Emma had manipulated more than one nuisance small town politician or business owner without even breaking a sweat or having her fake smile waver.

Seeing her so utterly defeated pissed Regina off, she didn't like seeing the impressive girl seem so hopeless. Regina knew what it was like to feel hopeless and she didn't want that for Emma, her mother yes, but Emma no.

Shaking off her thoughts Regina ducked inside the steamy bathroom.

"Emma I'm leaving the fresh clothes for you on the vanity."

The girl said nothing as Regina set the clothes down and picked up the bundle of discarded wet clothing.

Emma said nothing as Mayor Mills exited the bathroom she just stood under the scalding spray coming from the showerhead. She knew she should probably turn the heat down, but she didn't feel like moving and the sharp sting of the scalding water on her skin felt good in a way. It gave her something to focus on other than her thoughts.

After about ten minutes of standing under the hot water, the water began cooling down but by then Emma felt more like herself and less like shattered glass she stepped out of the shower. Taking in her surroundings that had just been a blur to her when she had entered the room she noticed everything was immaculately white and pristine. It didn't seem like it would be a comforting atmosphere but it was so unlike the apartment Emma found it soothing.

Emma dressed quickly before going in search of her host. The rest of the house had the same feel as the bathroom. The main color was white, with some black thrown in every here and there. It would have seemed opposing to many people but the less like the apartment it felt the more Emma relaxed.

Emma found the Mayor in the kitchen. Mayor Mills turned when Emma entered and wordlessly she handed Emma a mug filled with dark amber liquid. Emma took a cautious swallow and moaned in appreciation. It was by far the best apple cider Emma had ever tasted, the only thing that would have made it better was if it contained alcohol.

"Thank you, it's delicious."

"I'm glad to hear it, I make it myself."

Neither woman said a thing as they both quietly sipped at their cider. When Emma finished Mayor Mills took her glass and rinsed both cups out in the sink before turning back to Emma.

"Now would you like to tell me why you showed up on my doorstep soaking wet, trying to beat down my door?"

Regina didn't mention the look on the girl's face at the time and Emma seemed glad that she hadn't specifically brought that up.

"It's my birthday today."

Regina ground her teeth as she tried to patiently wait. The girl's statement answered none of Regina's questions and Regina really didn't feel like having to pull teeth to get the answers she wanted. It appeared that was what she was going to have to do to get them though.

"And?"

"I came downstairs and my mom greeted me before giving me two presents. The first one was an amazing custom made guitar. It is the most amazing thoughtful present I have ever received."

"I'm glad dear but that doesn't answer my question. What happened next?"

"I was so happy and I stupidly thought that maybe, just maybe I could fix things with my mother, than she had me open my second _present._ "

Regina was shocked at the amount of venom in the girl's voice when she said the word present. If Regina had been anyone else she would have shuddered at the tone in the girl's voice. Regina knew that tone all too well and had used it on more than one occasion.

"What was the second present?"

"It was an acceptance letter to Plymouth State University. I haven't applied to any colleges."

"Your mother? I thought that wasn't allowed."

"It's not. She did it without telling me, and it wasn't the only one apparently she applied to more than one college trying to get me in with early acceptance. I still have months left until I need to apply to college but she didn't even give me the choice of doing it myself she just went ahead and applied for me."

Now that Emma had finally gotten to the point of what had upset her, her words were flowing along with lots of pent up emotion.

"I don't want to go to college. I've told her this more than once. I have my own plan of what I want to do with my life. She has never bothered to ask me though what my plans are. She doesn't care. The worst part is, is that everything she does. Every annoy aggravating thing she does, she does to give me my best chance in life. It would be one thing if she didn't care, or even if she cared about all the wrong things. That's not it, she just wants what's best for me and she cares too damn much. And she is smothering me."

Emma began pacing up and down the kitchen, her arms moving and her hair bouncing as she pace. She seemed lost in her words and thoughts, her feelings and issues just pouring out of her mouth. She was exhibiting a large amount of trust in Regina and Regina knew it. Deep inside Regina found it all rather funny. Here in front of her was her nemesis's daughter, ranting about her mother and trusting her mother's greatest enemy. Oh, if only Snow could see what she has driven her daughter to.

"She is smothering me with love and care. The funny thing is, is that you'd think if someone cared so much about you that they would care about what you thought and what you wanted. You'd think that they would actually listen to you have respect you and your choices. But she doesn't. She is too focused on what is good for me, that she doesn't realize she is striping me of all my choices. She's not some damn _Queen_ but that is what she acts like. I-"

Emma suddenly stopped. Her words trailed off and she froze in the middle of Regina's kitchen.

"Emma?"

Emma was facing away from Regina and she couldn't see the expression on the girls face.

"I-I can't. I can't"

"Emma, what can't you do?"

Regina was worried about the tone in the girl's voice. All through her rant she had been angry. No, she had been beyond angry. Now, the helplessness Regina had saw earlier in the girls eyes had seeped into her voice.

"I can't go back. I was able to put up with the lectures and the nosiness. I could forgive the judgmental and righteous attitude. Hell I could get over the camera she put in my room to spy on me, but I can't take the expectations. I can't go back but where else am I supposed to go. She is my mother, she is all the family I have left I can't just up and leave her. Leave town. Then there is Ruby and my father. I know I have plans and now that I'm eighteen I can go through with them but I had always planned on finishing school. But I can't go back to her. I can't go back to that house."

Regina moved closer to the girl and turned her around so that Emma was facing her. She saw the panic in the girl's eyes. She forced Emma to meet her gaze and very slowly and very carefully, she used the same voice she used on a spooked horse when she spoke to the girl.

"Calm down, it is okay. It is all going to be okay. There is no need for you to pack up and leave town tonight. Think things through. You said it yourself you are eighteen now. That means you don't _have_ to live with your mother. You could move out, maybe stay at a friends and finish the school year."

The panic look in Emma's eyes receded as Regina spoke and she felt the girl's muscles relax under Regina's hands, where they still gripped her shoulders.

"I-I have no one to stay with."

"Surely Ruby and Granny would let you stay with them."

Emma shook her head.

"I couldn't they have a hard enough time making the money they need to pay Mr. Gold's rent. I couldn't ask them to take care of me as well."

Regina contemplated the girl in front of her silently. Emma made no move to speak of move away from Regina. The girl seemed relaxed and grounded in her presence, which would make her the only person in town.

"Stay here."

Regina wasn't sure where the idea came from or why she had spoken it out loud without thinking it through. For a moment she panicked, what was she going to do with a teenager? Regina liked her personal space and didn't have any desire to foster her nemesis's daughter. Regina had been a step-mother once and she refused to be one again. However the idea did have a certain appeal to it. And she could just imagine what it would do to Snow even if Snow didn't have her memories, the fact that she had driven her own daughter out of her house and into the house of her worst enemy…oh it was delectable.

"Here?"

"Yes, dear. Here."

"You would do that for me? You would let me stay here?"

"Only until the end of the school year of course. After that if you plan on staying longer I would expect you to start paying rent. Not until then, but after yes. If you still want to leave town to follow your plans for your future you can do that after the school year is over with. This is your choice Emma, whatever you decide is up to you. Understand? This is one hundred percent your decision. Don't worry about your mother or me or anyone else. Just think of yourself."

Regina realized even if Emma didn't that if she was only staying until the end of the school year, she would be here forever. It take some getting used to since now that she was eighteen the curse was in full effect on Emma and unless the curse broke the girl would never age another day. Neither would Ruby or Ashley, for that matter. Only the two closest kids to Emma had aged with her, all her other classmates just blur and names changed in her memories. Regina had only let Ruby and Ashley age along with Emma so that she had something to focus on so that the other students would blur more easily in the girl's mind.

Now she would forever be eighteen and she would always be tantalizingly close but just out of Snow's reach. Regina couldn't believe things had worked out so perfectly without her having to do anything at all. She would have thought a few gentle nudges would have been needed to open a rift between mother and daughter, but Snow had done a fine job of causing that rift without any help from Regina.

"If you're sure you're fine with it, I would like to stay."

Regina smiled at the girl. A smile she hadn't smiled in years, not since she had met a brunette brat that had ruined her life. Emma returned to Regina the smile that her mother had stolen away because with the girl's answer Regina's revenge was well and truly a success and it was very _very_ sweet.


	9. Chapter 9

"There are a couple of things I want you to keep in mind if you are going to be staying."

Emma was seated at the kitchen table her eyes fixed on the Mayor's every move. After Mayor Mills had assured her that it was perfectly okay for Emma to stay the Mayor had sat Emma down at the table and began whipping up breakfast.

"First, you need to understand that you are an adult, and _I_ _am not_ your mother. Therefore you had better be responsible because I will not bail you out of any trouble you find yourself in. Second, I don't particularly care what you do with your time so long as you continue your schooling and nothing like the City Hall debacle happens again. Third, I am not accustomed to sharing my personal space with anyone so it will be an adjustment for me. I would appreciate it if you would at the very least pick up after yourself. Lastly, I want you to feel comfortable here so feel free to invite a friend or two over just try and keep what I just told you in mind and respect my private space."

The Mayor barely looked at her as she spoke her attention more focused on the scrambled eggs she was making. When she finished with her speech she had also finished breakfast and the food smelled amazing. Emma felt like she was in a trance and was willing to agree to anything the Mayor said.

"Sounds reasonable."

"Good, how are your eggs?"

"Delicious. You are an amazing cook."

Mayor Mills smiled at the praise and Emma felt slightly lightheaded though she assumed it was due to the events in the last couple of hours.

"Thank you dear."

They fell into a companionable silence and finished their breakfast. Regina collected the dirty dishes and placed them in the sink. She would have preferred to wash them right then but she had more important things to do. Sighing she turned away from the skink and back to the youth still seated at her kitchen table.

"I have four guest bedrooms, you may decide on whichever room you please. You can take a look at them later for now I think it would be best if we went and picked up some of your thinks from your mother's house."

The girl looked like she wanted to flee at the thought of returning to her mother's house. It took the girl less than a minute before the fear disappeared from the girl's eyes and was replaced with steely resolve.

Emma glanced at the Mayor and her stomach seemed to knot itself. They were standing outside the apartment building Emma had spent her entire life in. She knew everything about the building from the neighbors, to which stairs creaked.

For the most part she could not be happier about leaving the building and never returning. The last few years of living here had been hell. Ever since her father wound up in a coma, she felt like the place was less of a house and more of a prison. Mary Margret sure ruled over her domain like it was a prison.

Still there were good memories here, memories that now hurt her to think about.

A hand rested gently on her shoulder. Emma looked over to see concerned dark eyes studying her. It wasn't embarrassing to Emma that the Regina noticed her hesitance to re-enter Mary Margret's domain. It actually made her feel like a real person. Someone who's feelings mattered. It was something she had never felt living with her mother.

"We do not have to do this now if you do not want to. I can come back tomorrow and get anything you need," Regina offered.

"No. Thank you but no," Emma said with a firm shake of her head. This was something she had to do.

Squaring her shoulder's she left the relative safety of the sidewalk and approached the building. Regina was her silent and supportive companion, as she trudged once more up the stairs to the top floor were Mary Margret presided.

Emma and Regina had just reached the landing when the door to the apartment was thrown open and Mary Margret launched herself at her daughter.

"Oh, Emma I was so worried! What do you think you were doing running off like that? Do you know what could have happened to you? Right after it left it started raining, you know better than to just take off without a jacket!" Mary Margret

Emma pulled away from her mother and willed her face to remain impassive. She was here for one thing only: to collect her things. She wanted nothing to do with Mary Margret.

"I am here to get my things. I'm moving out," Emma informed her. With that said she darted past her mother and into the apartment.

"Wha-moving out? Emma!"

Emma raced up to her room and went straight to her closest, pulling out the garbage bag she had taken from Regina's house. Careless to exactly what she was grabbing she just scooped everything in sight into the bag. She wanted to get everything and leave as soon as possible.

"Emma what is this nonsense about moving out? You're still in school and –"

"And nothing as of today I am eighteen and legally an adult," Emma snapped interrupting Mary Margret. "That means I can move out and you can do nothing to stop me!"

"Where exactly do you think you will live?" Mary Margret asked in that commanding but still hysterical tone she did so well. "You have no money to afford your own place. How long do you think you will manage to stay at Granny's?"

"I don't plan on staying at Granny's," Emma said as she ripped open her dresser draw and started dumping all her socks into the garbage bag that was beginning to fill up.

"So where do you plan on living?"

"It is none of your business," Emma snapped at Mary Marget looking away from her task of unloading her dresser.

"Of course it is. It doesn't matter how old you are I am still your mother!" Mary Margret argued.

"No you're not. You haven't been a mother in a very long time Mary Margret," Emma said her voice as cold as ice. Across the room Mary Margret seemed frozen due to shock. Emma didn't care her limit had been reached and everything she had kept inside began bubbling out of her mouth.

"You were always smothering but after Dad's accident you became unbearable. I was no longer your daughter but your subject, your majesty," Emma sneered out. "You forgot that I was a person with my own thoughts and wishes. You never stopped to think or listen to what I wanted and it didn't matter to you, after all you are the Queen and whatever you want you get. I'm sick of it. I am not your subject and you most certainly are not a Queen. How long do you think I would stand aside and let you control me and my life? Well I am through. Through with this house, through with living this way, through with this farce of a family, and most of all I am through with you Mary Margret Nolan!"

Emma slammed her dresser draw closed and grabbed her bag of things and stalked right past Mary Margret.

The haunting sobs of her mother followed her down the stairs to where Emma found Regina waiting for her. The Mayor stood in the middle of the living room looking as though she had stopped in for tea and that she hadn't just heard Emma lay into her mother. Seeing Regina's complete lack of concern for Mary Margret despite the sobs they could both hear from upstairs eased the small ball of guilt in Emma's stomach.

Mary Margret was a horrible mother, and Emma was a horrible daughter but Regina's reaction, or lack of reaction, let Emma know that even if she was a horrible daughter she at least was not a horrible person.

"Have everything you want?" Regina asked her voice even and cool.

"Yes," Emma answered more than ready to leave and never return.

"As long as you are sure this is what you want Emma," Regina said. "Then after you."

Emma stopped for a moment and turned to take in the apartment she grew up in. There were some happy memories that had happened here but now after years of unhappiness those memories had turned bitter. All the negatives of her life stood out so much clearer as though they were warning signs of what was to come.

The sounds of her mother wallowing in her own sorrow likely focusing on how much Emma hurt her and not even realizing that it was her who had hurt Emma first was the driving force. Nothing would ever change if Emma stayed here and the definition of insanity was to do the same thing over and over and continue to expect different results.

Emma was ready for things to change, to have the opportunity to be herself and the chance at happiness. She would never get that here living in Mary Margret's shadow. It was time for her to leave and grow on her own far away from Mary Margret.

"I'm sure," Emma said with a pained smile at the Mayor.

Her shoulders squared and her head held High Emma exited the apartment, leaving behind everything that was there and everything that it represented. Regina was right behind her and for the first time in her entire life things felt right for once.

"Time to go home," Regina said as they stepped out of the apartment building.


End file.
